by Rachel Shane
My heart beat faster. She’d figured it out. “You can’t let him know you know!”
“I’m not scared of him.” She flung another drawer shut.
“But you’re not the one he threatened,” I whispered. “He said if I told you—”
“Let me guess, he’d make sure you took the fall?” She rolled her eyes. “He’s so predictable.”
The door swung open, and I jumped out of the nest. Whitney continued rifling through another rack of clothes, completely relaxed as both Chess and Kingston entered. Chess took one look at me and paused in the doorway. His fingers indented the soda can he clutched in one hand. Kingston glared at me under the shadow of his newsboy cap. The smile I was supposed to wear for Chess spread slowly over Kingston’s lips as he extracted his cell phone.
He punched in keys, gawking giddily at the screen like he’d uncovered a website with free porn.
“Don’t.” Whitney tossed a pillow at him, knocking the phone out of his palm. The cell skidded across the floor and under a bureau.
“You said you told them to stay in the car!” I blurted.
“I lied.” Whitney shrugged. “I thought that was obvious.”
Chess backed into a corner of the room, not meeting my eye. He perched on the top of the bureau, his elbows propped up by his knees. He stared into the soda can like it held all the answers to his finals.
“What exactly did you threaten her with?” Whitney asked Kingston.
“I did you a favor. She’s a serpent, a fucking snake in the grass.”
“Who uses the word serpent anyway?” Whitney resumed her shopping spree.
“I like it,” Kingston said. “It sounds evil.”
“I think I’ve proven I’m trustworthy.” I stole a glance in Chess’s direction and gave him a quick, forbidden smile. If the smile’s recipient didn’t see it, was it like a tree falling in the woods?
“I thought we had an understanding, Alice?” Kingston drew his finger across his lips.
“She didn’t tell me, King. It wasn’t that hard to figure out. You were practically gloating about it.” Whitney tossed a blue Victorian dress at Chess. It hit him in the face and draped over his head. He reached up and pulled it off, messing up his hair. “And Chess, stop moping. That’s why she was acting all weird. Not because of you.”
“Really?” He lifted his eyes to meet mine. I shot him the best nod I could muster. His shoulders relaxed, and he rose from the bureau. He walked over to me while the others watched, dropping the soda into a trashcan on his way.
Kingston retrieved the mopey expression Chess had discarded and fastened it to his face. “You better not start making out here,” he threatened in a voice that could make a baby cry. Or maybe it was more like a voice that sounded like a whiny baby.
“Or what?” Whitney asked. “What were the terms?”
I stood and grabbed Chess’s hand. “He said I had to stay away from you. From the group.”
Chess twisted me around and pulled me onto his lap on the nest. His hands encircled my waist, squeezing like a harness, like he couldn’t bear to let me go. He smelled so good, a mixture of soda and boy. I crumpled into him, trying to get as close as possible while still being PG.
“Enjoy it.” Kingston crossed the room to the bureau and bent to reach beneath it. “As far as I’m concerned, she broke the deal. She’s a fucking snake-in-the-grass spy. She acts all innocent, like a little girl, and then—bam! The truth comes out, and we’re all screwed.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Chess said, resting his chin on the top of my head. “She hasn’t told anyone.”
“Yet.” Kingston swept his arm beneath the bureau and retrieved the cell. “Little birdies always sing.”
“Kingston, if you even think about hitting send, you’ll regret it.” Whitney slammed down the receiver on a rotary phone she’d been inspecting. “I’ll be forced to extend the same courtesy to you. I know plenty of things you don’t want revealed.”
“I’m not hitting send.” He strode over to Whitney and lifted the cell phone to show her something. “See that girl next to Alice? The other blonde? That’s her sister.”
Chess tried to leap off the nest, but my body weighed him down. “Now you’re threatening her family, too?”
But of course, that wasn’t what Kingston was doing.
“Want to know where she works?” Kingston pulled the cell phone back so he could see it and pressed more buttons. “Health and Safety.” He clicked again. “The assholes who are investigating us. Do you recognize that, Whit?” His voice was schoolgirl giddy.
She squinted at the screen. “Is this true, Alice?”
Kingston walked over and graciously showed Chess and me the three photos. One of Lorina and me walking to her car outside the grocery store. Another of Lorina entering Town Hall. And the last, of her with clipboard in hand at the scene of the house reforestation.
I didn’t like Kingston, but I hoped he’d grow up to be a private investigator.
“Her sister is leading the investigation. Alice is a snaky spy.” He leaned against the wall and pointed the cell phone at me, a satisfied smile punctuating the gesture.
“Is Kingston right? Are you spying on us?” The air conditioner drowned out Whitney’s whispered words. I blamed my goosebumps on the blast of cold air.
I twisted in Chess’s lap to face him. He kept his arms tightly secured around me, but his eyes swam back and forth as he studied me.
“I’m not working for my sister as a spy.” I tried to keep my voice steady, so it would sound as truthful as it actually was. “But she is investigating you. I’m on your side, though.” My voice cracked. “I would never betray you.”
Chess squeezed me tightly. I hoped that meant he believed me.
“If that’s true, prove it.” Kingston crossed his arms.
“How?”
“Steal your sister’s keys to Town Hall and let us in so we can look at their files.”
My stomach settled into the floor. “That’s . . . insane.”
Chess waved his hands in the air. “No way. Too big a crime if we get caught.”
“Everything has a boundary,” Whitney said.
“Well, then I don’t trust her. She needs to prove she’s with us, not her sister. This is the only way to do it.”
My pulse beat at the base of my neck. “I don’t feel comfortable breaking and entering.”
“I’ll do it.” Kingston reached into his pocket and extracted the bag of mushrooms. “Just get the keys.” He popped one in his mouth.
“Are you getting high at school?” I blurted before I could stop myself.
He burst out laughing. Everyone stared at him. “Sorry,” he said while chewing. “Joke. You had to be there.”
I didn’t point out the obvious: we were there.
“Okay.” Whitney zipped up her messenger bag and retreated into a rocking chair. “I think there’s only one course of action here. I’m sorry, Chess, but we need to disband the group.”
“What?” Kingston ripped himself off the wall and stomped into the middle of the room. He spit the half-chewed mushroom on the ground. “How will that solve anything?”
“It’s too dangerous now, King. Too many people know too many things. If you found out about Alice’s sister, it’s only a matter of time before she finds out about us. I don’t see how we can continue. I’m really sorry, Chess.”
I felt like a brick tied to his ankle, dragging him to the bottom of the ocean. I rubbed his hand as an apology, but I knew it didn’t really solve anything.
Chess sighed. “Yeah, I understand.”
“Fuck that.” Kingston picked up a garbage can and threw it at the wall. Papers flew everywhere, and Chess’s soda can sprayed like a geyser all over the dresses. “All this time I’ve been patient, waiting for my turn. Chess isn’t the only one being screwed over by this.”
“I know,” Whitney said.
Guilt took residence in my stomach. I’d messed things up for ev
eryone. Even Kingston, who, it seemed in an ironic twist, had put Chess before his own needs.
“No.” Kingston kicked the wall with his foot. “My problem might not be as time sensitive as Chess’s, but it’s still a problem. It still needs to be fixed! Whitney, come on.” Sweat dripped down his forehead. “You promised.”
The tension was so thick it pushed against my lungs. No one said anything, not even Whitney. She could have made more promises to calm him down, but she didn’t. Kingston swiveled to face me. “Alice.” There was something in his eyes that I might have described as pleading if I weren’t talking about Kingston. “You have to know. One side will get you closer, the other side will get you farther.” He bent down in front of me. “You understand?”
“One side of what?” I glanced over Kingston’s shoulder at Whitney. She shrugged.
“The mushroom.” Kingston waved the bag in my face. “What do you think I mean? The group! Obviously. They’re giving up. I’m not. I’ll get you closer.”
Blood gushed in my ears. Chess’s breath was heavy against my neck—and oh, it felt good. Everyone waited for me to speak, to choose. There wasn’t a choice, even with the group disbanded. Even with Whitney probably hating me. “I’m staying with them, Kingston.”
He straightened. “Fine. I don’t need you. Or your keys.” He stalked toward the door and perched his hand on the lock. He’d already had the last word, but apparently that wasn’t enough. “I’ll fix this myself.”
He slammed the door. Silence boomed for several beats.
“Well.” Whitney sat up, breaking the tension. Chess let out a breath. “That fixes one problem,” she said. “But there’s one more.” She set her eyes on me.
Whitney may have been a master of riddles, but I didn’t need to be a CIA code cracker to decipher the obvious message: Whitney didn’t want me here. I slid off Chess’s lap, a lump swelling in my throat. I hoped I could make it outside before I choked on it.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Chess tugged the bottom of my shirt.
I pivoted to address them both. “I’m sorry I messed up whatever you were trying to do. I wish I could have helped.”
“Then consider me a genie,” Whitney said.
Chess chuckled at whatever he saw in my expression. “Whitney . . . ” He gave her an exasperated look.
“Fine. We’re done with Kingston. Not you.”
CHAPTER 14
“But why keep me over Kingston?” I divided my gaze between Whitney and Chess.
Whitney pulled herself out of the rocking chair and dusted off her pants. “He’s not seeing straight.”
“He’s too focused on revenge,” Chess translated, rising from the bird’s nest. “Not just on you, on everything that’s hurt him. He’s sabotaging us with his blackmail and surveillance stuff instead of concentrating on what’s important.”
“Important. Ah, yes, doing drugs at school is vital to saving the planet,” I joked.
“Those aren’t magic mushrooms. They’re shiitakes. He’s obsessed. I’d say it’s weird but . . . it’s Kingston.”
I chuckled as I followed them to the door. “How do you know you can trust me?” I paused. “Wait. That came out wrong. I mean—”
“Alice, I’m not blind.” Whitney held the door for me. “I’ve known about your sister for a while.”
“I wish you’d told me,” Chess shook his head at me in a reassuring, I’m-not-mad-at-you gesture.
“There’s a lot of things Alice could have told us.” Whitney pulled the door shut behind her. “Like what she knew.”
I paused in the hallway while they continued down it. When they realized I wasn’t following, they both turned back to me. “I want to make one thing clear. I won’t spy on my sister,” I said. “Just like I won’t feed information to her.”
“Worth a shot.” Whitney padded back down the hallway. Chess held out his hand for me to take. A smile broke out on my face as I wrapped my fingers in his.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I’m going home,” Whitney said over her shoulder. “I don’t want to be around for whatever Chess has planned.”
Redness spread over his cheeks. “Well, I want to have that . . . talk soon. But I really do have to get to work.”
I knew he meant we would do anything but talk, and that scared me as much as it excited me. Now new, concrete questions pounded in my brain. Chess was clearly keeping something from me based on the wet hair (showering at school? Why?), not to mention the mission of the group. If he was going to let me into his . . . well, let’s go with heart, just like he let me into the group, I had to trust him. And he had to trust me. They’d chosen me over Kingston, and that meant I should be privy to the info. All the info.
“Oh, right. I forgot you took an extra shift.” Whitney turned to me. “Alice, if you want I can help you get your garden in shape.”
“You don’t want to face Kingston!” Chess teased.
“I’m not scared of him, but that doesn’t mean I have to put myself in his war path.”
Chess dropped us off at my house. Digging her fingers underneath the soil, Whitney uprooted almost everything I’d worked so hard to position. She replanted them in a chaotic matrix. In some spots, flowers crowded while she left others so sparse, a forest of animals could make their nests in the empty space. She allowed my thriving white rosebush to remain in place, towering over the other flowers. Whitney told me one of the reasons my plants weren’t growing was because I’d mixed friends and enemies together, planting my asparagus too close to the onions in my vegetable garden. She also suggested I buy oyster shells and soak them in the plant water, because it removed acidity.
After she finished, I went inside and brought out my parents’ photo album, the one she’d been eager to see when I first tried to join the group.
“Oh cool, I almost forgot about this.”
I held it out of arm’s reach. “Only if you tell me what your agenda is.”
“You have to talk to Chess.”
“He told me the same thing about you a while ago.”
“That was just an excuse for him. It’s not my place to tell.” One thing about Whitney I both admired and despised: she fiercely kept everyone else’s secrets, including mine.
“He’s going to play the same game of monkey-in-the-middle.” I handed over the album, only because I wanted to watch what she focused on. It might give me some clue.
She flew through the pages, barely even pausing at any of the pictures. When she came to the end, she pursed her lips. “This wasn’t as helpful as I hoped.”
“What were you looking for?”
“Doesn’t matter. It wasn’t here.”
I snatched the book back up. “It matters to me.”
“Fine, I was looking for photos of people I don’t know, so I could try to find out who they were. I recognize everyone here.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m trying to identify everyone who might have been involved in this stuff.” She pushed herself off the ground and wiped off her hands. “To warn them.” A question formed on my lips, but before I could get it out, she said, “Those are the only answers I can give you.”
“If I’m going to help you do illegal things, I need to know why.”
“I know. I think it’s time. And if I think it’s time, it must be late.”
During gym the next day, I let Di, Dru, and Quinn go ahead of me to the track while I lingered behind, waiting for Chess to come out of the boys’ locker room.
“Hey,” I said when Chess emerged from the gym, trailing behind his teacher. Kingston followed, hands jammed in pockets, baseball cap on his head. Neither acknowledged the other, but both glanced in my direction.
“Need an escort to class?” Chess propped out his elbow for me to take.
The students marched in a funeral procession toward the track, obviously trying to use up as much time as they could before the teachers put them to work. The teachers ushered the stu
dents inside the track gates, blowing whistles like prison guards.
“Yeah, I probably should be going to class.” I looped my arm in the crook of his elbow. It was silly, we were just going to gym, not Homecoming or anything, but I couldn’t keep the giddiness out of my step.
“Well, if it were up to me, we would all be sleeping, but the teachers don’t seem to agree.” He steered me past a few girls sneaking peeks at their cell phones.
“Right. See, you get it. There are more important things than gym.” Like kissing him. Or finding out why he had two people doing his bidding. I shivered from the crisp fall air. Chess drew me closer to his body, sharing his body heat with mine. “And I consider this walk of great importance.”
“Great importance?” Kingston said from behind us. “You consider the genocide of innocent blades of grass important? You’re trampling all over them!” I twisted around to see him cupping the side of his mouth and whispering to the grass. “You owe me.” He glanced up and met my eyes, then said in a louder voice, “You’re pathetic.”
This from the guy who lost all his friends because of paranoia. Guess that really was a side effect of pot.
The two students in front of us checked over their shoulders, one meeting my eyes, before darting for the parking lot straight ahead. Away from the track. I eyed the teachers on the track; they had no clue. The students near us kept walking, mouths shut, desensitized to cutting class and other forms of rebellion.
I leaned toward Chess’s ear. “Did you see that?”
“I did.” His tone was curious.
“Remember how I said I probably should go to class?” The breeze blew my hair around my face as I waited for him to nod. “I was lying.” I tugged on his elbow.
“Good idea. Now there’ll be some proof to all the rumors Whitney started.” He let me lead him toward the parking lot.
Kingston rolled his eyes as we passed. “Keep on corrupting her.”
When we reached his car, Chess ducked. “I don’t usually keep my keys in my gym shorts, only razors, but,” he pulled out a metallic object that glinted in the sun, “I do keep a spare here.” He grinned.
